Eye of the beholder

The removal of a large, dying tree on the Circuit Courthouse grounds two weeks ago got us thinking.

We have master gardeners by the score and train new ones every year through Virginia Cooperative Extension's outstanding program.

We have garden clubs filled with enthusiastic and dedicated members.

We are surrounded by beauty, both natural and cultivated, for inspiration.

So why do we have courthouse grounds on Culpeper Street — perhaps Warrenton's most archetypal avenue — that are so...ordinary?

We urge the town council or the supervisors or the court system or whoever is in command of this important plot to issue a call for volunteers to redesign, replant, and reclaim this ground.

Certainly, there are fundraising possibilities that could raise most of the material costs. Certainly, there are landscape businesses that would donate or sell at cost. Certainly there are opportunities for Fauquier County Detention Center workers to do more than simply cut grass and weed the sketchy existing beds — the acquisition of horticultural skills is a definite rehabilitation plus.

We have a community common on the courthouse grounds. We could have a community gem.